Vehicle batteries prime culprit

“Vehicles in low and middle-income countries have tripled since 2000 and that has led to a graphic rise in lead acid battery recycling, often in an unsafe way,” Dr Nicholas Rees, one of the report’s authors, told the BBC.

“Unregulated and often illegal recycling operations break open battery cases, spilling acid and lead dust onto the ground, and [there is] smelt lead in open-air furnaces that spew toxic fumes and dust that contaminate surrounding neighbourhoods.”

Why are children vulnerable?

Experts say children’s intake of food, liquid and air is up to five times more than that of adults, if the body-weight ratio is compared.

“That means they can absorb more of this potent neurotoxin if it has leached into the soil and water or has spread in the air where the child is,” says the report.

It adds that babies and children under five are at high risk, because their brains can be damaged even before they get to fully develop, leading to lifelong neurological, cognitive and physical impairment.

“Lead is a potent neurotoxin that, with even low-level lead exposure, is associated with a reduction in IQ scores, shortened attention spans, and potentially violent – and even criminal – behaviour later in life.”